Chapter 508: To Devour

Nero's body followed.

Three attacks.

Four.

Five.

The battlefield became a storm of black flashes.

Yet Nero's movements were different now.

He wasn't desperately trying to keep up.

He was learning.

Every failed attack taught him something.

Every blocked strike showed him where his control was inefficient.

Every movement of the clone revealed another possibility.

Gradually—

The gap began to narrow.

Not because Nero had suddenly become stronger.

Because he had stopped wasting what he already possessed.

The clone disappeared.

Nero's eyes tracked her.

She appeared directly before him.

Her fist came forward.

Nero didn't block.

He allowed Darkness to flow around his body.

At the last instant, he shifted.

The fist passed beside him.

Nero's sword appeared beneath her guard.

The clone twisted.

The blade missed.

But Nero smiled.

He had forced her to react.

The battle continued.

And for the first time since entering the black star—

Nero wasn't simply surviving the trial.

He was understanding it.

Darkness wasn't something he needed to dominate.

It was something he needed to become one with.

His sword moved.

His body followed.

The shadows obeyed.

And somewhere within the endless black world, the lesson of the sixth star was finally beginning to take shape.

Nero raised his sword again.

The Darkness around the blade flowed like living smoke.

His crimson eyes remained fixed on Nyx's clone.

He didn't speak.

Neither did she.

The next exchange began.

And this time—

Nero was ready to swallow her and completely make this Law his. Even if he wasn't present her in his true physical form he could still feel his blood boil in excitation.

There was a silence before the sudden change.

Rumble!

The black world trembled.

Nero and Nyx's clone stood opposite one another.

Neither moved.

The silence between them was heavier than before.

Nero's sword was lowered slightly.

Darkness flowed around his body like a living shadow.

It no longer behaved like an ordinary cloak of energy.

It moved with him.

Every breath.

Every step.

Every movement of his fingers.

The Law of Darkness had begun responding to his instincts.

Across from him, Nyx's clone slowly raised her hand.

Darkness gathered around her.

Nero tightened his grip.

This time, he didn't wait.

He vanished.

BOOM!

The ground beneath his feet exploded.

He crossed the distance instantly.

His sword flashed toward her neck.

The clone raised two fingers.

CLANG!

The sword stopped.

Nero's eyes sharpened.

The clone twisted her wrist.

Darkness spread across his blade.

Nero immediately released it.

The sword dissolved.

At the same instant, his shadow beneath her feet opened.

A black blade emerged.

The clone jumped.

Nero followed.

His sword reformed in his hand.

He swung.

She blocked.

CLANG!

A shockwave swept through the darkness.

Both were thrown backward.

Nero landed first.

He immediately disappeared again.

The clone appeared behind him.

Her fist came forward.

Nero turned.

Their fists collided.

BOOOOOOM!

Darkness exploded between them.

Nero slid backward.

His feet carved two long trails across the black ground.

He stopped.

The clone was already charging.

Nero raised his sword.

Their weapons met.

Once.

Twice.

Three times.

The fourth collision shook the entire black star.

CLANG!

The fifth.

CLANG!

The sixth.

CLANG!

Their movements became too fast for ordinary eyes to follow.

Black flashes appeared across the battlefield.

Nero's sword changed shape with every strike.

A long blade.

A short blade.

A curved edge.

A spear.

Then back into a sword.

He had stopped thinking about the transformation.

Darkness simply followed his intention.

The clone's attacks were equally precise.

She didn't waste a single movement.

Every strike carried the weight of her authority.

Nero blocked one.

Dodged another.

The third caught him across the shoulder and sent him spinning.

He recovered before landing.

His shadow stretched beneath him.

He stepped into it.

The clone looked toward the ground.

Nero emerged behind her.

His sword descended.

She turned.

Their weapons collided.

The impact created a massive wave of darkness.

The clone was pushed several meters away.

Nero followed.

His sword disappeared.

His fist appeared instead.

The clone blocked.

Nero's other hand moved.

A black blade emerged from his sleeve.

She tilted her body.

The blade missed.

Her knee drove toward his chest.

Nero caught it.

Darkness wrapped around his arm.

He twisted.

The clone used the momentum to spin.

A wave of Darkness erupted from her body.

Nero crossed his arms.

BOOM!

He was thrown backward.

He landed.

Before he could move—

The ground beneath him became black spikes.

Nero jumped.

Hundreds of them erupted into the air.

He twisted between them.

One passed beside his cheek.

Another beneath his arm.

A third came directly toward his chest.

Nero's sword appeared.

SHING!

He destroyed it.

The fragments transformed into shadows.

Instead of falling—

They followed him.

Nero's eyes widened.

The clone had manipulated the fragments.

He immediately dispersed them.

The darkness vanished.

Nero landed.

He stared at the clone.

She had once again shown him something.

Even fragments of Darkness could be controlled.

Even destroyed attacks could become weapons.

Nero understood.

His expression became calmer.

He lowered his sword.

The clone attacked.

Nero didn't move.

Her fist approached.

At the final moment—

He disappeared.

Not by moving.

Not by teleportation.

His entire body became Darkness for a fraction of a second.

The fist passed through him.

Nero reformed behind her.

His sword struck.

The clone blocked.

But this time—

Nero's Darkness flowed through the point of contact.

It didn't attack her.

It connected with her.

Nero felt it.

The connection between the clone and Nyx.

The same kind of connection he had seen before.

His eyes narrowed.

He understood the final lesson.

Darkness didn't need to destroy something to consume it.

It could connect.

Understand.

Then—

Devour.

Nero stepped backward.

The clone watched him.

For the first time, her expression changed slightly.

Nero raised his hand.

The Darkness around the battlefield began moving toward him.

Every fragment.

Every shadow.

Every trace of energy.

All of it gathered around his body.

The clone charged.

Nero raised his sword.

She struck.

He blocked.

BOOM!

Their weapons locked.

Nero's eyes met hers.

The pressure was overwhelming.

His arms trembled.

But he didn't retreat.

He pushed forward.

The Darkness around his sword spread across her weapon.

Then her arm.

Then her entire body.